The UK's Protherics moves into the black

Protherics of the UK has posted turnover for the six months to September2001 of L5.7 million ($8.2 million), an increase of L5.2 million over the year-earlier period and ahead of the L4.2 million reported for the whole of its last full fiscal year. The group ended this latest reporting period with L4.3 million in cash.

The leap in turnover was the result of strong sales of the firm's rattlesnake antivenom CroFab, launched earlier this year in the USA (Marketletter February 5). Protherics said that "the immediate uptake of CroFab by physicians has led to a rapid expansion in the rattlesnake antivenom market," and noted that "sales have exceeded our expectations."

Production at the firm's facility in Wales has been increased to meet demand, and revenues from the product will be enhanced by the US introduction in the second half of 2002 of CroVet, for animals bitten by rattlesnakes. Nevertheless, Protherics noted that CroFab turnover is "seasonal in nature and we expect lower sales volumes in the second half of the year."